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"A LOT OF SPLAININ' TO DO."
Tom Coburn may have just overtaken Jeff Sessions in the category of awkward racial moments. Coburn was asking Sotomayor whether Americans have a fundamental right to self-defense, and Sotomayor set up a hypothetical in which she used the phrase, "If I go home, get a gun, and shoot you -- that might not be legal under New York law." The room erupted in laughter, and Sotomayor said, "I'd be in trouble."
Coburn responded, "You'd have a lot of splainin' to do."
As in, the catch phrase used by Cuban actor Desi Arnaz in I Love Lucy.
Coburn may have some "splainin'" to do himself.
UPDATE: I should add this caveat. I don't have TiVo so I'm not able to review the exchange, it's possible I heard wrong. I'm sure someone will have video up soon, and when they do, I'll post it here.
UPDATE II: Here's the video from Political Carnival:
Really pretty astonishing. Imagine if Democrats had peppered Scalia and Alito with quotes from The Godfather.
-- A. Serwer
COMMENTS (5)
self parody alert level 5. are you seriously complaining about this?
Posted by: anon | July 15, 2009 11:17 AM
c'mon, anon, dog whistles are to be ignored only when Obama uses them...sheesh!
Posted by: Anonymous | July 15, 2009 12:01 PM
Well, considering Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican and not Cuban descent, I think the appropriate analogy to what Coburn said is more like:
Imagine if Democrats had peppered Scalia and Alito with quotes from Almodovar movies.
Sessions' craziness is another thing altogether.
Posted by: somegreaseball | July 15, 2009 1:38 PM
I'll call on both sides: this seemed an innocent joke to lighten up the situation. Rather appropriated, since the situation that was being hypotized was a dangerous one and one that did occur around 50 years ago. I'm quite sure neither Sotomayor nor Coburn realized the history and situation on their responses.
Posted by: SAR | July 15, 2009 6:40 PM
I'm just going to respectfully disagree altogether. While it might be proof of a tin ear, "You've got some 'splaining to do" is the most quoted line from arguably the most famous sitcom ever. It's an iconic phrase in American pop culture, and I don't think it's fair to ascribe racism to using it, even if you're talking to a Hispanic person, given the fact that it is so iconic. To use your reference to The Godfather, the most apt comparison would be "an offer he can't refuse." Again, if you wanted to you could impune some ethnic slight, but given that it's become such an organic phrase in American culture, that just wouldn't be fair, I don't think.
I'm sure there's a lot better proof Coburn is a flaming racist than this.
Posted by: Brien Jackson | July 16, 2009 10:07 AM